A new survey by Ceridian, reported in MarketWatch, highlights the changing expectations and desires of the different generations in the workplace. The results demonstrate that generational perspectives have a very real impact on the way employees engage with your business. Understanding and adapting to the generational difference can make a difference in the employee engagement, job satisfaction and company loyalty. According to the survey, non-monetary rewards are extremely important to the youngest generations. While salary certainly counts, 64% of respondents overall and 70% of Millennials wanted to see their companies offer perks such as free personal days, free food and… Read More
Categories: Generations, WorkplaceBusinesses spend quite a bit of time trying to understand what’s next…from the workplace demands of the next generation of superstars to the buying habits of the famed “18-24 target market” of potential brand loyalists. However, demographics tell us that “what’s next” may well be what just was. That is, the power of last generation’s new target market—Baby Boomers—is still the most powerful consumer market, and the older Gen Xers are right on their tails. Businesses need to keep up. By 2017, nearly half the US population will be 50 or older. They will have the more purchasing power than… Read More
Categories: Advertising, Baby BoomersI’ve been talking to businesses for years about “adultolescence” the phenomenon of extended adolescence that has resulted in younger generations hitting typical adult milestones, such as getting married, buying homes and starting families, at increasingly older ages. According to the BBC, the phenomenon is becoming official. Apparently, UK child psychologists are being told to consider the age range of their patients as 0-25, rather than the traditional 0-18. As part of the new directive, adolescence is to be broken down into three phases: early (12-14 years old), middle (15-17 years old) and late (18-25 years old). This new categorization is… Read More
Categories: UncategorizedHere’s an interesting new trend – Baby Boomers are beginning to settle down in the big city. According to a report in the Seattle Times, more and more Baby Boomers are walking away from the homes and yards in the suburbs to spend their empty-nester and retirement (or semi-retirement) years in the metro bustle that had once been the playground of the fresh-from-college crowd. It makes a lot of sense – smaller spaces, less time and money on maintenance, no worries about school districts – and it creates some interesting opportunities for employers and businesses. Besides the overall real estate… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, WorkAfter famously getting slapped with the “slacker” label early on, Generation X may have finally had its come-uppance. A FOXBusiness headline recently labeled Gen X “best” – yes, best. Now, to be fair, the context of the label was in determining the comfort and appropriateness of younger generations taking leadership roles and having older employees as direct reports. In other words, Boomers are more okay with Gen X bosses than they are with Millennial ones. This makes sense from a pure “need to earn your way/pay your dues” mentality and just generally more comfortable not taking orders from someone young… Read More
Categories: WorkplaceI’ve posted about this phenomenon before, and talked about it with clients over the years, but still people have a hard time believing it is true. Yes, I’m talking about parents getting all up in their grown children’s employment business. The topic is back thanks to an article in Huffington Post Business “Millennials Now Bring Their Parents along to Job Interviews.” HuffPost is reporting out statistics that say 3% of job seekers have their parents sit in on an interview – a number that seems statistically insignificant until you realize that until a few years ago not only would the… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Parenting, WorkplaceWe know they are the largest generation since the Baby Boomers and will have a significant impact on how businesses run in the future, but are Millennials already making leadership waves despite their relatively short tenure in the traditional working world? Recent research from Deloitte India seems to indicate so. As reported in Forbes, Deloitte India studied the work and leadership styles of Millennials in eight countries around the world. Of the 2422 respondents, nearly half held leadership positions. 50% of Millennials are in business leadership roles? Well, yes and no. It all depends on how you define leadership. For… Read More
Categories: Entrepreneurship, WorkplaceYou can barely pick up the paper these days without hearing about the 10,000 Baby Boomers who are reaching retirement age every day and how they will a) be a drain on the social security system and b) not “go gently into that good night.” Yet whether it is for the flexibility to visit with grandchildren and pursue travel dreams, the need for added income, or simply the desire not to be seen as past their prime, more and more Boomers are taking post-retirement careers. Boomers that achieved executive status often return to the workforce as consultants – working flexible… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Work, WorkplaceBoomers and Xers make up 88% of the workforce, but only about 27% are actively engaged employees, according to the most recent Gallup research. In fact, the only generation with a strong margin of actively engaged employees was the Traditionalists (I call them the Matures), whose engagement profile is 44% – yet they represent only 4% of all employees. So what does this mean for employers? If nearly 75% of employees are not engaged or actively disengaged – that is, they would considering leaving their place of employment if another opportunity surfaced or they are actively seeking alternate employment –… Read More
Categories: Generations, Workplace